Micro-organism in my bottles of wort?

Hello my friends,

I would like to ask if there are any issues with keeping wort made from DME in sterilized bottles? This saves me from making wort for my starter bottles each time I need some.

I ask because when I took the cap off one of my bottles today, there was a strong pressure inside which seemed strange. Must mean that there is some micro-organism inside?

Thank you,

Marius Jonsson

Did you boil the wort before bottling it? And do you store it in the fridge?

If you boiled it and store it in the freezer or fridge, it'll be ok. Unless you used a pressure canner, though, keeping it capped at room temperature isn't safe. You can get botulism.

Hello, I kept in in room temperature. If I now put it in the freezer? Or boil it again, then freezer?

Thanks,
Marius

Whatever is in there is spore forming, so boiling won't kill it. If it is botulism, it is already toxic and nothing can be done about that. I would dump it and get a pressure cooker if you want to can wort.

It has been kept in bottles. Do they have to go as well, or can I use them again?

Thank you.

Marius

If you clean them well, and sanitize them well, they would be ok. Glass doesn't "hold" onto bacteria or yeast spores.

I am in the process of making my first ever brew, but surely it cannot be safe to keep my starter bottles at room temperature either?

Thanks,
Marius

Well, it depends on how long you plan on keeping the wort around before adding the yeast.

Microbes are everywhere- there's no avoiding that. But, if you boil the wort, cool it and then add the yeast, the yeast generally "takes over" before any microbes can. Then once there is alcohol present, it's less likely to get infected. You can keep vodka at room temperature indefinitely- because no microbes can live in it, for example. So, once fermentation is underway, you're fine. Cover the starter with some sanitized foil (to keep fruitflies, etc out) and you'll be fine.

This forum is awesome, cheers for all replies

Marius